The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1887-02-23
1orr1NGs FROM THE CAPITAL.
RALEIGH, Feb. FL, 1887.

EDITOR PROGRESSIVE FARMER:-
Generally the first half of the legis-
Iative session is devoted to ~"develop-
ing" Everybody must introduce
some measure that he may have a
record before his people, and some
of these measureS r of such a
character hat tEeS must write to
their CONSTITUENCY \and ascertain
whether it would be popular to vote
for them. Meantime clog rolling"
schemes are being developed and
the "lobby" is busy putting in its
best work, and by the middle of the
session the plans and schemes and
the really meritorious work begin to
assume shape. Most of the bad legis-
l~ation, as a rule, is effected during
the last few days of the session,
when the rush and confusion Incl
dent to the winding up Of long
delayed work prevents an examina-
ton of the measures which are
pushed forward. This is the harvest
season for the lobby.
The measures thus far in which
the farmers are most Interested, that
have been acted on, are the Railroad
Commission bill, which was defeated
in the House by a vote Of 60 to 49,
the County Government bill that
was indefinitely postponed by a vote
of IS to 40, the giving of25O convicts
to the G. F. & Y. V. Railroad for four
years, and the passage of a bill by
which 1926 convicts are given to ID
Eastern counties for an indefinite
length of time, to construct and COM
plete seven roads and eight canals.
1t is called here on the streets and
in the Hobbies: "The North Carolina
River and Harbor Bill" In the
discussion Of the bill, DR.. Worth said
that it would take 100 convicts 5
years to cut one of these canals, and
that the State had already expended
S226,OOO for drainage of these lands
and had received only $4,000 from
the sale of these lands. Every
amendment offered to the bill, by
which the State could get anything
for the labor of these cOnvicts, was
promptly voted down. The farmers
in their Convention asked that the
convicts be put to work on the pub
lie roads. The PROGRESSIVE FARMER
has advocated it from it's first issue.
Many Of the leading papers have
advocated it. The argument against
it has been that c%onvicts could not
be worked on public roads profit
ably. And now we see $50 convicts
given to a railroad and 1926 given to
eastern counties. These bills should
be published in The PROGRESSIVE
FARMER.
Up to this time nothing hos been
dope with the Department o. Agri-
cultnrsAnd the Agricultural College.
1t is &id here that politicians will
make most determined effort to
defeat the Agricultural College. The
action of the Senate on last Friday
is exciting much comment among
the farmers and their friends here.
Attention was called to it last week
as a " little significant" The Senate
passed a bill to reduce the expendi-
lures of the Department to $4,000
per annum, to turn the remainder of
the fund into the Treasury, and
reduced the salary Of the Chemist
bio $4,000 1t is an open secret here
that the true purpose of this bill was
Nto drive DR.. Dabney out Of his posi-
Ltion and make room for another
because Of his expressed and open
sympathy with the farmers in their
reformatory measures. Many of the
Senators claim hat they did not
suspect the design. The bill has
lodged in the House and it is likely
that the Committee on Agriculture
will see to it that such a wild meas
ure does not pass their body, at
least before the Committee makes
its report. 1t is we'll known that
the two farmers Conventions. ap-
pointed a committee each, consisting
Of seven, to confer with the Com
mittee of Agriculture of the General
Assembly, to prepare q bill for re-
organizing the Board Of Agriculture
Nand for establishing an Agricultural
College, and that these Committees
were hard at work to get that report
ready and yet the Senate, in hot
haste, rushed this bill through,
which, if made a law, would entirely
destroy the Department and the
College. Such is the talk around
the Capital and the action of this